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Diabetic blindness could be reversed with eye injection

Injecting the drug ranibizumab into the eyes of diabetics improved their sight and prevented further deterioration

Close up of an eye, Child's eye close up with eye lashes, blind, blindness, sight,
The chemical, called AAQ, works by making normally 'blind' cells in the retina sensitive to light Credit: Photo: ALAMY

Diabetics blinded by the disease have been offered new hope afters scientists unveiled the first new treatment in 40 years.

Researchers said that injections of the drug ranibizumab improved sight when compared to traditional treatments for people with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

The disorder occurs when high blood sugar levels damage the cells at the back of the eye. If it isn't treated, it can cause blindness.

PDR is a leading cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes and the standard treatment has been laser surgery which can result in loss of peripheral vision and difficult seeing at night.

However the new treatment allowed patients to keep their peripheral vision while improving central sight so they could see eye charts more accurately and read half a line more, on average.

"This important study represents a major step forward for patients with PDR by providing the ophthalmologists who manage their retinal disease with new options," said Dr Timothy Olsen, of Emory University, Atlanta.

The injections would need to take place once a month for three months.

The number of adults with diabetes has risen more than 65 per cent since 2005, with more people than ever at risk of blindness.

Those with diabetes are at high risk of developing the disease, which can lead to complications such as heart disease, stroke and amputations
Most diabetics will end of with some kind of eye problem because they have too much sugar in their blood

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people of working age in the UK. It is estimated that there are 4,200 people in England who are blind due to diabetic retinopathy.

Within 20 years of diagnosis nearly all people with Type 1 and almost two thirds of people with Type 2 diabetes (60 per cent) have some degree of eye disorder.

Almost 3.5 million people in the UK are now living with diabetes, according to new analysis of GP data for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

In the last year alone, there has been a 3.5 per cent rise in cases, while hundreds of thousands more people are undiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.

To mark World Diabetes Day, the charity is announcing more than £3 million of funding for research into the link between heart disease and diabetes, plus new treatments for the condition.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the BHF, said: "Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Up to four million adults in the UK have diabetes so treatments are urgently needed that can help prevent them suffering a deadly or disabling heart attack or stroke.

"Research we're funding is showing us how diabetes can affect the blood vessels and bring on disease. By understanding this process, we hope to develop medicines that can prevent this disease process or even reverse it."

The new research was presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting and published in the journal JAMA.